The Labyrinth
by penguinluv129
Summary: On her first adventure alone with the kids, Della gets separated from them and stuck with Launchpad. And she isn't really fond of him. I mean, would you be if he taught your son to fly, was his best friend and crashed your plane? *shrugs* Let's find out. DelPad. DT17 Universe. ONE-SHOT.


**A/N: This was a request from queenbean03 on tumblr. I know it's been a while since the request, but I wanted to do it differently from my previous DelPad fics. Enjoy:**

* * *

"Boys!" Della screamed as the stone slide closed above her, the darkness enveloping her into the mysterious tunnel below.

"Don't worry Mrs. Dee! I gotcha!" Launchpad said, grabbing her by the waist and clutching her to his chest.

"Launchpad let go of me!" Della's voice echoed through the tunnel as they slid down the twisted slide. They flew into the air and landed in another section of the labyrinth. Launchpad skidded and rolled across the floor, Della still in his arms.

"Well that was kinda fun!" He smiled, freeing her from his grasp. "Wasn't it Mrs. Dee?"

"Della." She hissed, dusting herself off and readjusting her pilot's hat and goggles. "I'm not a 'Mrs.' and you don't have to be formal with me. Call me Della or else."

"Or else what?" Launchpad asked, standing up.

"Or else I'll tell Scrooge that you were the one who got us separated from my kids!" Della yelled. She rubbed her face in frustration. "Hopefully the boys don't start fighting and Webby can get them out of here and call for help"

* * *

Huey and Dewey tumbled over, slugging punches at each other.

Webby rolled her eyes in frustration. "Guys! Stop it! We need to get out of here!"

"Dewey wasn't paying attention and stepped on the tile with a diamond on it, the one mom specifically said to not step on!"

"For the zillionth time, Huebert, I did not!" Dewey pushed Huey's face into the floor.

"Guys, can you please stop fighting!" Louie burst into tears.

Webby facepalmed herself.

* * *

Della touched the walls of the labyrinth, her fingers lightly pressing the walls for any hidden levers.

"Whatcha doin' there Mrs. Dee-"

"Della."

"Oh, right. Della." Launchpad smiled. "Whatcha doin' there Mrs. Della?"

Della rolled her eyes. "You do realize that because you didn't pay attention, you caused us to get dropped through that trap door and get separated, do you?"

"I do, but-"

"Listen, just stay close to me. Yeah, I've been gone a while, but I've done this exploring thing a bit more than you have." She huffed, pressing a small brick in the wall. The wall lifted, revealing another passage. "Besides, I don't need a co-pilot. "

"Mr. McDee said I should come along and learn how to not crash the Sunchaser from you."

She groaned and pulled out a flashlight from her bag. "How many times have you crashed my plane, exactly?"

"Quite a lot actually!" Launchpad smiled. "But I have to say, my best friend Dewey is probably gonna be a better pilot than me. One time he 'crashed' the plane, but it didn't really crash. It just kinda sorta plopped onto the ground nicely."

"Wa-wa-wait a minute." Della spun around. "Repeat what you just said."

"'Plopped on the ground nicely?'"

"No, before that."

"'My best friend Dewey?' "

"Not that, but we are gonna talk about that. The other thing, about the plane?"

"Oh yeah! One time there were these stunt pilots, and I was injured. And Dewey wanted to learn to fly, and I taught him when I was on bed rest. But then Mr. Dee's cologne knocked out the stunt pilot they hired as a replacement and Dewey flew the plane and 'crashed it' nicely." Launchpad smiled and bobbed his head. "Good times. So proud."

Della walked up to him, fist shaking. "You taught _my_ son how to fly a plane."

"Oh yeah, he's a natural-"

" _You_ taught _my son_ how to fly a plane _."_ She poked Launchpad in the chest. "Listen here, McQuack. I get it. I was gone for years. People thought I was dead. But _that?_ Teaching my kid how to fly a plane? That is a family thing."

"But we are famil-"

"We are not family." Della took a few steps back. Launchpad looked on the floor, examining the diamond shaped details on the stone tile floor. "I appreciate that you taught him. But you stole something from me that you can never take back."

"Della…I-"

"And another thing: You calling yourself my son's 'best friend?' Kinda weird. Not gonna lie." Della spun around and rubbed her brow. "Look lets just get out of here before we open another trap."

She moved forward. Launchpad pulled her arm and pulled her back. "Wait!"

"Launchpad, stop! We need to get going!"

"Della, please! You have to-" Della pushed him off. She stepped forward, her foot landing on a tile with a diamond.

"Stop it! I know what I'm-" The tile sank. Della froze as she heard a mechanism activate in the walls. "-doing?"

"I was trying to warn you!" Launchpad yelled over the sound of the walls shaking. A large boulder came rolling down the corridor.

They screamed and ran down the corridor. Della ran fast, but her shorter legs couldn't keep up to Launchpad. He looked at the corner of his eye and saw her falling behind. He fell back and swooped her in his arms bridal style.

"What are you doing? You'll only slow yourself down!" Della yelled.

"I can't leave you behind! Mr. McDee and the kids would be so upset if anything happened to you!" He said between breaths.

"I can take care of myself!" She screamed.

"But you were falling behind! If you got crushed-"

"Launchpad. The gap in between the wall and the boulder is small enough for me to duck under and escape. You're too big to get out of this." Della said sternly.

"What?"

"Look behind you." She pointed at the boulder. Launchpad peeked behind. Sure enough, there was an opening just small enough for Della to hide under.

"Then escape!" Launchpad screamed.

"No! Not without you!" Della said. "How would my son react if I let his best friend die?" She smirked a bit.

A huge smile grew on Launchpad's face. He ran faster, dodging the diamond tiles. Della watched as she saw him tire out faster and faster.

"Launchpad. I need you to step on one of the tiles with the diamonds on them."

"But the traps-"

"Maybe we could use them to help escape or stop the boulder!" Della said, wrapping her arms tightly around Launchpad's neck. "Just…step on every one."

"Every tile?" Launchpad screamed?

"Yes! Now do it!"

Launchpad took in a deep breath and hopped onto every trap tile he could see. Arrows flew past him. He curled Della into his arms and shielded her. A pile of snakes fell from the ceiling. He pushed them off him and shook off a snake that bit his arm. Fire spewed from the walls. Della felt the heat, but never got burned. The smell of burned leather permeated the air. A large pit of spikes opened below him. He jumped, tucked and rolled across the pit. He ran ahead, but the boulder rolled over the pit, not stopping. Launchpad stepped on a tile, a large swinging scythe appeared in front of them. Launchpad ran ahead and jumped.

The edge of the scythe cut his arm, causing him to fall, losing his grip on Della. She rolled forward and saw blood coming from his left arm, along with all the scratches and marks from the beat down he took from the labyrinth's trap. She looked at the snakebites and arrow scratches on his face. Part of his pilot's jacket was burned.

Della watched as the boulder rolled closer and closer. Launchpad struggled to get back up. Della ran to him and pushed the tile near him. They fell down another trap door.

Della clung onto Launchpad as they slid another twisting slide, the boulder running over the trap door. They slid in the darkness, until the plopped out on the other side of the slide and landed in a large circular room with a spiral staircase leading up to the sky.

"Launchpad! The exit! We made it!" She turned to his still body. "Launchpad? Launchpad! Wake up!" She shook his body. He groaned in pain.

"Everything hurts." He grumbled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…I just-" Della looked to his blood soaked arm. "Quick. Take off your jacket."

Launchpad wiggled out of his jacket. Della looked at the cut on his arm. She rolled up his green t-shirt sleeve and grabbed a flask from her bag. She opened it and poured it on the wound.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Relax, its just alcohol. Surprisingly this movie trick works if you're desperate. I think Huey has the bigger med kit in his bag. I've got the extra bandages. You're lucky it's just a small wound, it didn't cut deep into the muscle." Della looked at his arm. She stared at the curve of his bicep and bit her lip. "Beefy."

"What?"

"I mean- uh…" Della blushed. "Crap, I can't recover from that, can I?" She laughed. "I said 'beefy.' Like, damn your arms are built." She closed the flask and put it away. "I thought the jacket just made you look buffer."

"No I'm just naturally muscle-y." Launchpad smiled. "Its like, if I was a cartoon, I was just drawn that way."

Della giggled. "You like cartoons, huh? Tell me about your favorite show. Keeps you distracted from the medical stuff." Della pulled a small first aid kit from her bag.

"Oh, okay, um…do you like Darkwing Duck?" He asked, watching her focus on her med kit, pulling out a pack of gauze and pushing the gauze on top.

"That old superhero show? With the electric rat with no ears? And that weirdly buff water dude?" Della smirked and dug through the bag. "God that show was great."

"It is!" Launchpad sighed. "I showed Dewey it. He thought it was weird, but I don't care. I've even got a limited edition poster in my-"

"Crap!" Della said. "The bandage roll doesn't have enough to wrap your arm."

"Is it cause I'm beefy?" Launchpad asked.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yes. Because you're stacked, I don't have enough bandage to wrap you with…I have to use a substitute-" A light went off behind Della's eyes. "Got it!"

She took the last of the bandage and used it to wrap around the gauze. "Hold it in place."

"Okay?" Launchpad used his other hand to hold the wrap. He watched as Della took her scarf off her neck and wrapped up the bandage tightly. "Wait, but that's your scarf!"

"And you're gonna borrow it. Just remember to give it back." Della said, tightening the knot.

"But the blood-"

"I know how to get rid of blood. Don't worry." Della said, smiling. "Besides, you took most of the hits for me. I'll be sure to let the boys know that."

Launchpad smiled at Della. Her cheeks lit up pink. She bit her lip and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry I was a bit of a bitch before." She sighed. "I just…really wanted this adventure to go off without any surprises."

"Its okay. What kind of adventure doesn't have a few surprises?" He winked.

Della's face went white. Her heart started beating out of her chest. "Okay…y-you cannot do that."

"Do what?"

"Wink? Look cute? That weird absent minded, good natured, wholesome, smile that is just…" She bit her lip again and inhaled stressfully through her nostrils. "Just stop being so…"

"Beefy?"

Della's jaw dropped. "Yes? Um…" She stood up and hurriedly put the med kit back in her bag. "Look, just…stop being so cute."

Launchpad blushed. "I'm not cute…if anyone is cute here, its you."

Della's face went red. "I...thank you? But could you not ever say that again, especially in front of my ki-"

A large mechanism from the walls grinded above them, opening a door. All four kids flew out and landed on Launchpad.

"LP! You're alive!" Dewey cheered.

"Mom!" Louie crawled over the dog pile and ran to Della, giving her a hug. "Huey and Dewey were fighting again and it was just terrible." Della smirked as she saw Huey and Dewey roll their eyes.

"Y'know, ever since mom came back you've been a real baby- wait is that blood?" Huey pointed at Launchpad's arm.

"Oooohh! Looks like your mom used her scarf to act as a bandage over the gauze!" Webby said, admiring her work. "So cool! Your mom is soooooo smart!"

"What happened?" Dewey asked.

"Well…Launchpad saved me. And I fixed him up." Della smiled.

"Your mom-"

"Launchpad shut up." Della sneered. The kids looked at their mom suspiciously.

"But what about you saying that I wa-"

"You saved me, I nursed you. End of story. Now lets get back to the plane." She nodded towards the spiral stair exit.

They all walked up the stairs in silence. Dewey fell back and walked next to Launchpad.

"Psstt…LP. What did she say?" Dewey whispered.

"Oh! Your mom said I was beefy! And she said I was cute!" Launchpad said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Della froze at the top of the stairs.

"Mom?" Huey smirked.

"Do you have something to share with the rest of the family?" Louie winked.

"Shut up all of you and get in the plane!" Della scolded, her face red. She stomped out of the labyrinth and into the forest above, grumbling. The boys snickered behind her.

"Wait…so…your mom has a crush on Launchpad?" Webby asked.

"Wait, what?" Launchpad blushed. "She likes me back?"

"Wait you like my mom?" The triplets said in unison.

Webby screamed. "Oh my God! I ship it! Oh my God! They're both pilots! Its adorable!"

"Webby please stop." Dewey begged.

"I can't! Its too cute! OH! What about a ship name? Hmmmmm?"

"Webby! Please! This is waaay to awkward! Stop!" Louie begged.

"LaunchDel? No. Hmmm…DelPad?" She squealed.

"Webby enough with the shipping, this is very inappropriate!" Huey's voice cracked.

"Oh my gosh! What if they got married? Ahhh! Then he'd be your 'LaunchDad!'" The boys groaned in frustration and tackled Webby, who was giggling like crazy.

Launchpad looked at Della who'd bright red cheeks could be seen from afar. Her shoulders bounced up and down.

"Pfffttt…'LaunchDad.' That girl is hilarious." She muttered to herself, hiding her chuckles.

* * *

 **A/N: aaaaaaand that is that! I hope you guys enjoyed it! TBH I really wanted to try doing DelPad for this one a bit differently because so many people have different ideas of how Della really is. Plus we don't really know her character because she hasn't shown up YET (It is the Thursday before the Crash of the Sunchaser episode when this was written.) So I am going by how the comics portrayed her, how her kids are, and what we know of her at this point.**

 **Hopefully I didn't make your eyes roll too hard at that LaunchDad joke. XD**

 **Please Review and Favorite if you like it! And check out my other DelPad fics too!**

 **Love you all!**

 **~Alex**


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